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10 More Handy Writing Tips That I Use Regularly – Part 2

Create a space in your home especially for writing. This way you have an oasis and you can also send a message that, when you are in this space, you are writing. Of course, you should also be prepared to write wherever you happen to be.

Proofread everything at least three times before submitting your work for publication.

Start a blog. Use it to talk about your own writing process, share your ideas and experiences, or publish your work to a reading audience. Use this valuable community of authors to learn and teach in a cooperative atmosphere.

Use writing exercises and writing prompts to improve your skills, strengthen your talent, and explore different genres, styles, and techniques.

Let go of your inner editor. When you sit down to write a draft, refrain from proofreading until that draft is complete.

Embrace your failures. Allow yourself to write poorly, to write a weak, uninteresting story or a boring, grammatically incorrect poem. You’ll never succeed if you don’t allow yourself a few failures along the way. Also, you don’t have to share what you’ve written until you’re ready.

Make it your business to understand grammar and language. Do you know a noun from a verb, a predicate from a preposition? Do you understand tense and verb agreement? You should. Know the difference between there, their and they’re.

You are a writer so own it and say it out loud: “I am a writer.” Whether it’s a hobby or your profession, if you write, then you have the right to this title.

Keep on writing. You’re ability to finish a piece of writing cannot be taken from you.

Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
Continuing Don’s Handy Writing Tips Series 😀
To ensure you don’t miss any parts (or indeed, any of Don’s great posts) please subscribe to his blog 😀

Another tip is that you can’t really do without a good editor. They will pick up the sorts of things that you and your beta readers are all likely to miss. A case in point is your most important tip:
‘Keep on writing. You’re ability to finish a piece of writing cannot be taken from you.’ That should be ‘your ability’.

Don, is there any chance you could add the link to Part 1 at the end of this post? I’d like to include the link to your tips in a guest post, but my host has a word limit, and it would be great if people could easily navigate to Part 1 from here.